New Orleans-based pianist Sullivan Fortner talks jazz ahead of American Spring Music Festival

Sullivan Fortner is an immensely talented pianist who has been getting
plenty of attention on the jazz scene with numerous live performances and
with his successful debut Aria on Impulse. This summer he will be
performing at the Newport Jazz Festival; but this week he is in the Czech
Republic
as part of the American Spring Music Festival.

“I come from a family of singers, not really a whole lot of
instrumentalists, but singers, especially in church. Church is really
where
I got my start. My mum was in a choir, she was the choir director, my
sisters sing, you know, and as a little boy I had a crush on the church
organist. When I was about three, I tapped out some of the stuff she was
playing and at home I was always tapping stuff out on the TV or on the
bannister. My mum got tired of me doing that, so she bought me a little
Fischer-Price piano. And one of the first things I played was the theme
tune for the US game show Jeopardy from one hearing.”

‘I’ll take famous jazz standards for 500, Alex’…

“Exactly: all on the little keyboard. That was how I got
‘started’.”

You have a formal education in piano, won numerous jazz summer
scholarships, completed a Master’s in Jazz Performance at the Manhattan
School of Music: I know you have talked about the importance of studying
musicians who came before, understanding their music and the instrument in
the context of the time period… What were some of the lessons important
for you?

“Well I think that ANY student of music (but really any of the
performing arts) has to understand what came before, for several reasons.
If you have a good understanding you can avoid some of the mistakes which
were made before, and you create a certain type of awareness and second it
gives you more things to draw from in the creative process.”

Which performers for example were influential when you began studying
jazz?

“Maybe the first thing I heard in jazz was Duke Ellington at the age of
12. Then I was recommended some Herbie Hancock, the theme from the
Antonioni film Blow-Up. But I wasn’t enthusiastic yet. Then John
Coltrane
but that was hieroglyphics to me, I didn’t understand it then. Then I
was
recommended Erroll Garner and that was when it clicked, when the light
bulb
hit. Garner and Oscar Peterson were the first two pianists I heard where
it
really clicked. And then Art Tatum, that pretty much sealed the deal for
me.”

“I started jazz and classical at the same time; I love classical music
and listen to it at all the time but I knew it wasn’t for me because of
the gospel background and the limits on improvisation. So I didn’t take
to it as much as a performer. But classical and jazz are closely
connected,
the same language.”

“It’s funny because when you’re in school you’ll be playing with a
bunch of guys but also just hanging out, getting food, sometimes cutting
class, you never think that these are relationships you are going to have
for the rest of your life. The first gig that I ever got was through the
well-known trumpet player Christian Scott and Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’
Andrews who toured with Lenny Kravitz and has his own thing going which is
really great. One of my high school buddies who later went on to Julliard,
Jonathan Batiste, is the musical director for the Stephen Colbert Show. We
used to practice Oscar Peterson together and all that.

“Then, you go through college and graduate school – many of those
relationships I maintained and were really important for the beginning of
my career.” (laughs)

As mentioned, you played in many different groups including with Roy
Hargrove… what is it like to play in an ensemble where there is a single
band leader? Is it different playing for different bandleaders in terms of
styles or demands?

“Absolutely. I would say that the majority of bandleaders I have had not
‘demanded’ much other than just what I bring to the table. As far as
how material is presented, though, that is different. If you take Roy
Hargrove, there is no sheet music, everything is by ear. As opposed to
other musicians I have worked with where we have sheet music and
rehearsals. So it is a little bit different. Technically, it comes down to
here’s the tune, go and do what you do with it.”

I guess that is part of the thrill, going off on your own tangent or
thread when it is your turn, so-to-speak… it is about communication
between yourself and the others in the group isn’t it?

“Yes. It’s mostly listening. I think that the key to playing jazz is
really listening and being interactive.”

In a recent interview you did for Voice of America, you said that you
didn’t play solo all that often: has that changed?

“I have a couple solo gigs in the Czech Republic, including Thursday’s
performance at the residence of the US ambassador; otherwise I will be
performing with a trio of musicians, not my usual trio from back home but
from here. I am looking forward to it.”

Your debut album, Aria on Impulse, is a mix of standards as well as
original compositions, because you are also a composer… what standards
are part of your repertoire?

“There are a lot of songs which I have accumulated over the years
through various gigs and jam sessions and performing with different bands,
playing with singers… I really love jazz standards. It’s hard to say
which I will draw from, especially in solo concerts. But I’d say you
will
definitely hear some Thelonious Monk, some Cole Porter, George Gershwin;
you may hear some Richard Rodgers, Frank Loesser, Kurt Weill, there are so
many great composers to draw upon.”

I wanted to ask about some of the venues or cities you enjoy playing
in or
coming back to…

Sullivan Fortner, photo: official website of Sullivan Fortner
“Once place, I was just there is the Village Vanguard in New York. For a
jazz musician, if you haven’t played, definitely highly recommend to get
something going for you over there. The Village Vanguard is beautiful, it
has such a rich history, everybody’s played on that stage and the sound
is incredible, you can hear everything so clearly. That is a really great
place to play.

“As far as other cities or places abroad, I enjoy playing in Japan,
Tokyo in particular. South Korean audiences are great, they are
enthusiastic, they yell, they really get into it! Paris, France, is really
cool and some cities in Germany, I really like the A-Trane jazz club,
really nice place. I like the Czech Republic! I have been here three or
four times and it has always been really great to play here.”